Tight Steel Scrap Supply Likely To Limit Downside Room Of Steel Prices

Today's iron ore market trended higher before easing off. The most active contract I2609 closed at 784 yuan/tonne, up 0.64% from the previous session.

[SMM Daily HRC Trading] On April 21, the combined daily HRC trading volume of SMM's sample enterprises across four cities (Shanghai, Lecong, Tianjin, and Ningbo) totaled 16,000 mt, down 1,560 mt or 8.9% DoD, up 45.72% YoY (solar calendar basis), and down 13.47% YoY (lunar calendar basis).

[SMM Steel] Hoa Phat Group reported a sharp increase in HRC orders in April, with inventories declining significantly and demand expected to rise further. Q1 HRC sales grew 24% YoY to 2.36 million tons, while exports doubled to 416,000 tons. The surge is driven by Vietnam’s AD duties on Chinese HRC (up to ~27.8%), strong domestic construction demand, and reduced Iranian slab exports, which boosted demand for finished HRC. Prices have increased ~8% YTD, with April offers raised by ~$34/t, while export margins remain attractive, with US-bound prices $40–50/t higher than domestic.